Pink Moon
by Baroquess
Summary: The adventures of the Wonderful Snake and the Tiny Seahorse. Slightly slashy. HatoriAyame.


**Pink Moon**

Pairings: Hatori/Ayame

Type: Gen, can be seen as romantic

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, nor its characters.

"Look at that, Tori-san! Isn't it wonderful?"

Hatori had the faint suspicion that Ayame would've pointed to the moon, if only he'd had fingers to point with. Slightly annoyed, he opened his eyes, staring at the moon shining through the branches of the tree they were currently huddled under.

"I suppose so." Hatori wished it wasn't so hard to move, but having a snake around both legs tended to do that to a person. Ayame had adamantly refused to allow any form of clothing over him, as it would block his vision. After all, men's romance was an important part of life, even if it involved a snake and a seahorse.

Hatori could only sigh. He knew it would be unethical to his doctor's code to leave the snake alone, letting him freeze to death. As tempting as it sounded, at times. He cursed inwardly. He didn't want Ayame to die, not _really_. Just a short break from phone calls, text messages, unannounced visits and self-invited sleepovers would be amazing, not to mention terribly unwinding.

His thoughts were interrupted at the snake's energetic voice. "Don't you think the moon is so romantic tonight, Tori-san? It's kind of pink, the universal colour of love!"

"Only in the heart of nine-year old girls. And you." Hatori sorely berated himself for forgetting his cigarettes.

"So, what is_ your_ colour of love, 'Tori-san? I'm very curious to know! Maybe I can make an outfit out of it, and I will wrap you around my finger… or tail, depending what shape or form I happen to be in at the time! It will be a challenging men's romance for sure! Maybe I can even make little snake outfits…" It was mildly disturbing to Hatori to hear loud, boisterous laughter coming from a small snake. Even after all these years, he was only partially used to it. The snake always seemed to catch him off-guard.

"Hn." Hatori didn't particularly feel like responding. Ayame accepted this without missing a beat, slithering more snugly up to Hatori's legs. Hatori wasn't exactly comfortable with it, though he knew Ayame would never bite him in his snake form.

"My snake would very much like to snuggle up to yours." There it was again, the laugh that terrified Hatori so. This time, however, he suppressed a smile.

"Aren't you tired of that old joke yet?" Hatori asked. "I would have expected that someone with your creativity and imagination can come up with something wittier than that."

At the reprimand, the silvery snake, now in his lap, let his head fall flat on Hatori's leg, hissing sadly. "Oh, 'Tori-san knows how to punish my wonderful personality!"

"Other than the snow, I think your personality is quite safe. It is your body I am worried about." Indeed, even after convincing the snake to let himself be wrapped in his coat – which produced a number of protests, as it smelled like smoke – the snake would not warm, let alone change back into his human form.

The snow didn't help either. The blizzard they were currently trapped in showed no sign of disappearing anytime soon, and the snake in his lap just grew colder.

Suddenly, Hatori sneezed. His skin had been growing cold under the lack of clothes, his coat handed to the Hebi. He was tingling all over and was trembling uncontrollably. Ayame crawled over his legs in a fruitless effort. He was too small and cold to bring any kind of warmth for the doctor.

If only Akito hadn't kicked them out of the house after finding out about the unauthorised visit from Ayame. Hatori knew it was impossible to try and reason with their God if she was in such a frenzied state, and had readily accepted the punishment.

He hadn't expected it to last this long. Ayame might develop pneumonia and would be bedridden for a week, if not more. Hatori would be forced to monitor him constantly. It certainly would be a grave punishment, indeed.

When Hatori sneezed again, he felt the twitching of his body as he too transformed into his animal counterpart. The snake fell atop of him and crawled under the clothes in a frantic search, ready to dump the seahorse in whatever frozen lake he'd be able to find, no doubt.

Hatori felt his animal instinct kick in the second the smooth scales touched his own, and crawled deeper into the protective place in the pile of clothes.

"Not to worry, 'Tori-san! I'll make sure nothing bad happens to my favourite doctor! The Super Handsome Blossom Trio would not work as well as a Duo, after all!" Ayame couldn't bring up enough energy to laugh, which almost worried Hatori more than their current predicament. If the snake, currently arguably the most agile member of the two, would go into a state of hibernation, surely things would not look good for them.

"We need to get to the house, Aya," Hatori replied weakly.

"Akito wouldn't allow us inside, 'Tori-san… you know that." Ayame sounded sad, but surprisingly accepting of the fact.

"Don't tell me you've given up." If he had been feeling more alive than dead, Hatori was certain he'd be able to find the situation entertaining. He finally found a way to get Ayame to shut up.

"I haven't, 'Tori-san. This situation just calls for a good men's romance nightly cuddle!" The snake found his prey under the collar of Hatori's shirt, and curled tightly around the small seahorse. "See? Don't you feel better now? I feel better now! Surely me feeling better will transfer to your current state as well, as we have never been this close before!"

The small seahorse was unable to do anything but squeak, as he couldn't find enough air through the silvery scales of the snake. Ayame thankfully noticed the spasms of the seahorse, and loosened his grip just a tad.

It was only then that Hatori was sure Ayame was a strangling snake, not a poisonous one. It only figured, since the man was so keen on hugging even in human form that it instantly became a defence mechanism; people were unlikely to accept a hug from Ayame without any strings attached.

"Hey, you know…" Hatori began, only to trail off. He wasn't sure he wanted to say anything to Ayame right now, as the man held the most embarrassing situations over his head at all times, and deemed them '_times when the real Hatori shone through, silly and loveable'_. Try as he might, Hatori had not been able to convince Ayame that he was anything but silly and loveable.

The snake slightly hissed in response, staring at the pink moon as the tip of his tail patted the seahorse's head in a patronising manner.

"Perhaps the moon really isn't so bad." _Even if it is pink._

The snake turned at him, and Hatori was sure that if snakes had been able to smile, it would have been exactly what Ayame was doing.

"Ah, so Hatori is a romantic soul after all." What a great discovery. Ayame made a mental note to tell Shigure about the adventures of the wonderful snake and tiny seahorse when they'd get home.

Inwardly smiling when he noticed the seahorse closing his eyes, he vowed to protect Hatori the same way the doctor had protected him all his life.

--

The pink moon had long since vanished when Hatori opened his eyes again. The doctor felt relieved when he noticed his arms and legs were once again present, although slightly numb from the cold. Quickly moving to put on his slightly soggy clothes, he noticed the snake curled on his stomach only when it began talking.

"How was the wonderful naked rest for 'Tori-san? Surely it was very freeing! It must feel so great to sleep naked in the snow! Oh, how I long for the day that I shall be able to do that as well!" The snake's speech sounded slightly slurred, though the yellow eyes focussed very intently on Hatori's face.

"Have you been awake all night?" Hatori was slightly alarmed at the lack of shine on the snake's scales, and picked him up quickly.

"Well, my personal doctor always tells me never to fall asleep when I'm cold, as I might start a hibernation period, and who knows how long I could be asleep! And if I weren't able to dream about the wonderful 'Tori-san, I'd be a very lonely snake all winter!"

Hatori smiled despite himself, and put the snake around his neck. "Just for this once, I'll carry you home… but don't count on it becoming a regular thing."

Ayame said nothing, but quickly slithered into the man's shirt, coiling around his stomach. "My my, you have such a fashionable belt right now, 'Tori-san…" The snake sounded sleepy.

"Just don't move lower, Aya."

In the middle of their journey home, Ayame transformed back. The man jumped when his naked feet touched the snow, and jumped right back into Hatori's arms, wrapping his feet around the man's waist.

"Hey, we must really do this again, sometimes…"

Hatori didn't dare complain as Ayame was practically sleeping, and continued carrying the drowsy man to the house. He pretended not to notice when the man's lips brushed over his neck, and pretended it must've been a gasp instead of a kiss.


End file.
